Stiftkirche St. Peter (St. Peter's Abbey Church), Salzburg
Exterior and interior of St. Peter's Church. Photos by Stefan Eissing.
Interior of St. Peter's, looking towards the altar. Photo by Douglas Sprott.
Baroque-style ceiling. Photo by Stefan Eissing.
Interactive satellite map of St. Peter's Church. For a larger view,
see our Salzburg Map or Google Earth download.
The most sumptuous church in Salzburg, the Abbey Church of St. Peter was founded in 696 AD by St. Rupert, whose tomb is here. It is the church of St. Peter's Abbey and Benedictine Monastery.
Originally a Romanesque basilica with three aisles, the church was completely overhauled in the 17th and 18th centuries in an elegant Baroque style. The front portal, dating from 1245, survives from the original basilica.
This is where Mozart's famed Mass in C Minor premiered in 1783, with his wife, Constanze, singing the lead soprano role. Wolfgang often directed orchestra and choir here, and also played its organ. During every season of the city's summer music festival in August the Mass in C Minor is performed here during a special church music concert.
Inside, the low-ceiling aisles are painted in Rococo style. The porch has beautiful Romanesque vaulted arches from the original structure; the interior was decorated in the characteristically voluptuous late-Baroque style when additions were made in the 1770s.
The church is richly adorned with art treasures, including some altar paintings by Kremser Schmidt. The Salzburg Madonna in the left chancel is from the early 15th century.
Note the side chapel by the entrance, with the unusual crèche portraying the Flight into Egypt and the Massacre of the Innocents. Behind the Rupert altar is the "Felsengrab," a rockface tomb where St. Rupert himself may be buried.
After exploring the church, head for the abbey's legendary Weinkeller Restaurant, adjacent to the church. A thousand years ago the monks of this church started a restaurant and its been in business ever since. It's classy, central, not too expensive, and your best splurge for traditional Austrian cuisine. The menu is large and varied.
Quick Facts
| Names: | Stiftkirche St. Peter; St. Peter's Abbey Church; St. Peter's |
| Type of site: | Abbey church |
| Faith: | Roman Catholic (Benedictine order) |
| Dates: | Founded 686; mostly rebuilt in 17-18C |
| Architecture: | Baroque with some Romanesque remains |
| Address: | St. Peter Bezirk, Salzburg, Austria |
| Phone: | 0662/844578-0 |
| Bus: | 5, 6, or 55 |
| Hours: | Apr.-Sept., daily 6:30 AM-7 PM; Oct.-Mar., daily 6:30 AM-6 PM. |
| Cost: | Free |
Sources
- Personal visit (September 2004)
- Frommer's Austria, 11th edition.
- Stift St. Peter (St. Peter's Abbey) – TripAdvisor reviews and articles
